Celtic swatted aside Rangers with embarrassing ease at Hampden as they strolled into the Scottish Cup final against Aberdeen.

The Hoops hopes of a Treble and of marching through the domestic season unbeaten remain alive after an emphatic victory that was not reflected in the scoreline.

Brendan Rodgers’ Bhoys dominated from virtually start to finish as Pedro Caixinha’s derby debut ended in ignominy, the standard in quality between the sides exposed as an ocean of class.

Callum McGregor opened the scoring on 11 minutes, passing the ball into the corner of the net from 22 yards after Moussa Dembele manoeuvred himself between the Gers central defenders to set him up for his strike.

Video Loading

Video Unavailable

Click to playTap to play

The video will start in 8Cancel

Play now

Scott Sinclair killed the game stone dead five minutes into the second half with a penalty, awarded when James Tavernier slid into Leigh Griffiths after Wes Foderingham was slow to react to a through pass from Kieran Tierney.

The only surprise is Celtic didn’t win by more - Stuart Armstrong curled a shot inches wide early on before Foderingham batted away a free-kick from Griffiths, who entered from the bench after 34 minutes when Dembele tweaked a hamstring.

Foderingham reacted brilliantly to twice deny Griffiths in the second half, diving low to his left to keep out a shot after diving high to touch a volley over the top.

Craig Gordon didn’t have to make his first save until the 62nd minute, diving low to his right to save a Kenny Miller but Rangers were weak and insipid and stood off their rivals far too often as Celtic dominated possession.

The Light Blues rallied in the last 15 minutes and Miller hooked a volley onto the roof of the net and then brought out a save from Gordon’s feet with an effort from 12 yards.

Martyn Waghorn also nodded wide from a Tavernier cross and Joe Dodoo brought out another fine save from Gordon, as Tom Rogic also cracked the base of the post with a shot for Celtic. However, the sight of Rangers fans pouring from Hampden long before the final whistle had blown told its own sorry story as Celtic’s remarkable season continues.

5 things we learned

One way traffic

Callum McGregor slots home (Image: Tony Nicoletti/Daily Record)

This was the most one-side game in recent history with the level of authority displayed by Celtic unmatched even in previous games in which the Hoops have scored four or five goals. This time last year the talk was about how much Rangers had closed the gap on their arch rivals. This match proved it’s back to a yawning chasm.

Brendan's bang on

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers (Image: SNS Group)

Brendan Rodgers got his tactics spot on - if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it - but Pedro Caixinha failed miserably in his first big test as Rangers boss. If Clint Hill was fit enough for the bench he should have started and there should also have been a spot for Lee Hodson, either at left-back or in front of Tavernier. Rangers were absolutely petrified of their rivals.

Celtic didn’t just take a step closer to the Treble, they laid down a marker for seasons to come with this performance of utter dominance. Rangers could invest £30 million in their squad this summer and would still struggle to get close to the standards set by Brendan Rodgers’ Bhoys. Long before the end Rangers had settled for damage limitation - and Celtic should have scored more.

Ref gets it right

Yellow card for James Tavernier (Image: Tony Nicoletti/Daily Record)

Pressure was piled on officials in the lead up to the game but the nature of such a one-side affair worked in favour of Willie Collum and Co. Andy Halliday should have seen red in the opening minutes for an awful lunge at Roberts, but the official called the penalty decision spot on.

Time to move on

Celtic fans at Hampden (Image: Tony Nicoletti/Daily Record)

Rangers fans at Hampden (Image: Tony Nicoletti/Daily Record)

Both clubs have allowed standards to slip recently when addressing the scourge of sectarian singing. Rangers fans belted out the Billy Boys - Celtic fans responded with ‘Ooh Ah Up The Ra’. Time for greater discipline and maturity, folks.